A purse — finally!

I came home from work the other night determined to cross something off my list that's been on there for months: a new purse. I've been carrying a ratty, not too pretty, purse that I got for my vacation last October only because it had a lot of pockets and an adjustable strap I could wear messenger-style (so much safer when traveling). It had seen better days. I found this too-cute pattern on the IS•LY blog, and decided to give it a shot. This is what I wound up with:

Let me first say, the pattern is mostly a set of templates. The instructions are definitely written for seasoned bag-makers. If you want to try making a purse for the first time, spend the money on a pattern with detailed instructions — Amy Butler has some good ones.

I decided to alter this pattern quite a bit by adding interfacing and batting. For the main outer shell, I layered the fabric, interfacing (Pellon 40 I think), batting, and more interfacing. That made the pleats a little tricky to sew together, and I'm still not 100% happy with how the bottom pleats turned out, but I think that's just in my head. I really like the look the quilting gives the bag. I was a little apprehensive and the only reason I actually went through with it is that I wanted something a bit sturdy. I went with straight-line, "organic" quilting, because I knew I wouldn't be able to get the lines all straight and evenly spaced. I eye-balled a line down the center of each piece, then went out from there.

Oh, and the inside, of course:

I think I may go back and add a button and some elastic across the top to keep it closed. Now that I have all my stuff in it, it keeps popping open. As cute as the lining is, I don't want everyone to see that far in my purse!

In other news, Amy over at Amy's Creative Side is motivating people to finish one thing in one week. The week for this challenge ends on Tuesday, July 27.



I'm aiming to finish the Pure wall-hanging. What do you want to have done in a week?